Recently in Racism Category

Well, of course they did. When you consider that your comment, even if taken out of context, involved two African Americans. It was a poorly articulated comment and that makes it your mistake, President Clinton. Whether Obama's team chose to frame it as racist is immaterial. You said it, it got used against you. Duh.

Canadian Cynic

It's bad to kill a blob of cells with little to no consciousness that even the Bible says has no worth until it's been outside it's mother for a month.

But it's good to let people like Michael J. Fox suffer from Parkinson's disease.

and it's good to keep people like Christopher Reeves confined to a wheelchair.

And that's before he gets good and warmed up.

Orcinus

Over the past week or two, several events have occurred that show just how radically the range of acceptable political and media discourse has changed in the past eight years.

First, the New Republic finally got the Minneapolis Historical Society to cut loose its store of old Ron Paul Reports, put them online, and thus verified -- once and for all -- our repeated contention that Ron Paul's benign good-doctor pose was hiding a noxiously hateful and racist past.

Second, Bill Press called Pat Buchanan a white supremacist to his face on national TV. Of course, this isn't news to regular Orcinus readers -- but it is a first for the mainstream media. Press just put it right out there, like it was a stone cold fact -- and Tucker and Pat sat there, and took it as a fact. Even more stunningly: Nobody called him names. He didn't get his mike cut. He wasn't asked to leave. He'll probably even get asked back. Incredible.

Third, both Max Blumenthal and Joe Conason published different but similarly damaging articles on Friday pointing out the long-standing ties between Mike Huckabee and various Reconstructionist leaders. Huck hasn't said publicly that America needs to dump the Constitution and institute biblical law in its place; but it appears that some of the most influential people who do believe this are also some of Huck's very closest friends. As Joe points out, these friendships raise serious questions about his intentions as president that the voting public deserves some straight answers to.

It's tempting to view this simply as an assertive media just doing its job -- until you reflect on the fact that this is the first election in a decade that any of these of events had the remotest chance of occurring.

It is a long post, as they usually are over at Orcinus. But it is a post of hope, change, and an indication that the Extreme Right has finally lost it's false, glossy cover.

I'd like to think this will lead to this. So, I guess I've got some hope.

Minnesota Monitor has an article up about the reaction to the Giuliani campaign picking Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek for law enforcement outreach in Minnesota. Now, I understand the need to beat the Republican's this upcoming election. But do we need to do it in a manner similar to the Republican's, such as when they hamstrung an administration with old news, screeching like harpies until an investigation resulted in the Monica Lewinsky debacle?

Look, I never approved of the lies President Clinton told over the whole situation. Nor do I think he has honestly admitted to what happened. And there in lays the difference between Clinton and Stanek. Stanek obviously made great efforts to correct what was no doubt an inexperienced and naive officer's verbal mistake.

Stanek then spent a considerable effort to mend the hurt that some said was caused by the remarks in that deposition.

During the 2006 election for Hennepin County Sheriff, Republican candidate Stanek garnered the support of many traditionally DFL voters. Insight News, one of Minneapolis' largest African American newspapers endorsed him. "We believe in redemption," publisher Al McFarlane said. "We believe that people change. We believe that people can grow and we appreciate and we applaud people who are willing to say I was wrong and I stand before you asking for forgiveness. Rich Stanek is a model for white people. He really is."

As a police officer, Stanek met repeatedly with members of the African American community to make amends for the hurtful comments of a decade ago. Al Flowers, a prominent communty activist said, "I believe he was sincere in his apology." And Stanek was backed by African-American Leadership Summit and Black Church Coalition in his campaign.

He also won by a large margin in the largest and most diverse county in Minnesota with 65 percent of the vote.

Also, while Clinton may have been dishonest about a private matter, Stanek has, in fact, been upfront and honest about a professional matter. He has shown integrity and honor. He has been human, made a mistake, and worked at correcting that mistake. He obviously does not deserve the title of racist.

Now, should he start popping oxy's, sending his maid to empty parking lots, and generally making all sorts of ignorant, stupid comments about breeding and what not, then we can hang the title racists on the man. However, I'd say that title's already been taken by someone else.

Oh, and just because Stanek was picked to work for Giuliani's campaign does not mean he was picked by Giuliani himself. In fact, considering all the above facts, I'd lay odds Giuliani was completely out of the loop on this one. Especially when these are the type of people Giuliani personally handpicks.

The Agonist

Republican Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo told a Danish journalist that Europe Should Deport its 20 Million Muslims. This was last night on the first episode of a mini-documentary series on America, Clement in America.

He's as stupid as Bush. What person in their right mind makes an idiotic statement like that? Well, obviously, someone, such as Tom Tancredo, who does not have a mind. What the hell do you say to such stupidity? I can't even imagine his brain has the capacity to keep him breathing. True, he's alive. But what kind of life can you live with a brain that has an apparent maniacal desire to commit political seppuku?

To be honest, I don't want to know the answer.

Paul Krugman

Since I've just published an op-ed about the enduring influence of race on Southern voting, I'm sure to be accused of being a typical Northeastern snob talking about poor white trash who don't know what's good for them. So I thought I'd mention an important point about Southern white voting that didn't fit in 800 words: namely, the poor whites are not the issue.

In fact, if you look at voting behavior, low-income whites in the South are not very different from low-income whites in the rest of the country. You can see this both in Larry Bartels's "What's the matter with What's the Matter With Kansas?" (pdf), Figure 3, and in a comprehensive study of red state-blue state differences by Gelman et al (pdf). It's relatively high-income Southern whites who are very, very Republican. Can I get away with saying that rich white trash are the problem? Probably not.

Oh hell, Paul, I think you can. At least, I'd agree. I'd also suspect high-income Southern whites are residual plantation stock, carrying on the tradition of pappy in the finest of efforts.

Washington Post

Key Republican leaders are encouraging the party's presidential candidates to rethink their decision to skip presidential debates focusing on issues important to minorities, fearing a backlash that could further erode the party's standing with black and Latino voters.

I really can't believe the moderate Republicans actually think their party stands a chance with minorities. Considering that the last 6 years has seen nothing but race baiting and the use of divisive issues to secure their base; that any token legislation towards minorities presented by the Republicans when in the majority was either removed in negotiations between the two chambers, or simply watered down; that their main drive for votes was to scare the populace with tales of brown skinned boogie men.

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. "What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

I'm sorry Jack, but what party have you belonged to all these years? Obviously you have not noticed it's been over run with Minute Men, the John Birch society, and other isolationist groups.

Besides, in the end, the pattern of the current crop of Republican politicians points out the obvious......

Giuliani, Romney and McCain also declined to appear at events sponsored by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the National Urban League, which Smiley said suggests a pattern of ignoring minority voters. He said debate organizers will set up lecterns showing the names of the absent candidates.

"When you reject every black invitation and every brown invitation you receive, is that a scheduling issue or is it a pattern?" he asked. "I don't believe anybody should be elected president of the United States if they think along the way they can ignore people of color. That's just not the America we live in."

They are a racist party.

washingtonpost.com

Justice Department attorneys made the highly unusual request that Hayden's and Alexander's full arguments be stored in courthouse safes, be viewed only by judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and be kept out of sight of any other court personnel, including the judges' law clerks, because of the highly classified information the documents contain. Versions that do not convey classified information were also provided to the court.

"These declarations generally explain . . . the risks to national security imposed by the panel's decision," the Justice Department attorneys wrote.

The July 20 ruling centered on how much information detainees should be able to see about the Defense Department's decision to imprison them indefinitely as "enemy combatants." The appeals court ruled that the government must provide to judges and opposing counsel all information, including classified information, used by Combatant Status Review Tribunals in making such determinations. Courts need that information, the judges wrote, to properly determine whether the tribunals were fair to the detainees and whether the individuals should in fact be considered enemy combatants.

You know what? Enough already. To hell with the Justice Department's request for super secret decoder ring court proceedings. These people are being held without any type of human decency or respect. Civil Rights are more a cornerstone of our freedom, our way of life, and our security than CIA dirty tricks. Upholding the rights of any human being over the so called security measures of government is inherently more powerful then Extraordinary Rendition, secret prisons or Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.

But then, this is not about security for the country. This is about little boys in big boy bodies running around playing spy games.

It's also about making sure we keep the darkies in their place.

By way of Digby, this is just great!